


Brace Yourself

by respoftw



Series: Tumblr Prompts - McShep edition [29]
Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-13
Updated: 2020-04-13
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:21:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 669
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23631520
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/respoftw/pseuds/respoftw
Summary: Dialogue Prompt:“I saved your life.” “You pushed me off a building.”
Relationships: Rodney McKay/John Sheppard
Series: Tumblr Prompts - McShep edition [29]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/501682
Comments: 20
Kudos: 140





	Brace Yourself

**Author's Note:**

  * For [fehldrck](https://archiveofourown.org/users/fehldrck/gifts).



Rodney’s casts itched; all three of them.

Both legs and one arm broken. The only silver lining was that it was his left arm that was broken and that was only a silver lining if he thought really, really hard about it. The itching was making any kind of thought nearly impossible at the moment so Rodney wasn’t feeling particularly thankful for anything when John finally made an appearance at his infirmary bed.

“Look who finally decided to grace me with his presence,” Rodney said. “Don’t I feel special that you found time in your busy, busy schedule of leaning against walls and romancing ascended women to visit the person whose legs and arm you broke.”

John pushed off from the wall that he was leaning against and scowled. 

“I saved your life,” he pointed out. “Some people would be grateful.”

“You pushed me off a building!” Rodney yelled. “Excuse me for not being grateful that I nearly died in your incredibly well thought out plan to not get me killed.”

John had the good sense to look slightly guilty and Rodney sighed heavily. Why did he always have to be the bigger man?

“Did you at least bring me a gift?”

John grabbed on to the lifeline like a drowning man. “I did,” he said.

“Well, where is it?” Rodney clicked the fingers of his good hand in impatience. 

John reached down and lifted a long, narrow, something from where it rested in his otherwise empty thigh holster. He held it out tentatively. “For scratching,” he offered. “Casts are a bitch to deal with so I figured this was better than chocolate.”

Rodney grabbed at the implement and immediately poked the end of it down his arm cast. He couldn’t help the moan of relief as the one spot down near his elbow finally stopped screaming at him.

“Yeah,” John shifted awkwardly. “I, ah, well, you know I’m sorry about the whole you being hurt thing, right? I thought you knew what I was about to do.”

Rodney stopped scratching long enough to glare at Sheppard. “Yes, because jumping off a balcony to escape the ticking time bomb in the room is a sensible solution.” He went back to the scratching, straining to reach a particularly hard to reach spot on his right leg.

John shrugged, “You’re alive, aren’t you?”

“I could have disarmed the bomb, you didn’t even give me a chance to try,” Rodney winced as his twisting and straining made his bruised hips start complaining.

“Give me the damn scratcher,” John said, already taking it from Rodney’s hand. “Let me know which way to move it.”

“Left a bit and down a couple of - - oh, God, yes, there.” Rodney closed his eyes in bliss as John hit the exact right spot. He opened them after a few seconds, surprised by how close the Colonel was.

“There wasn’t time,” John said, his eyes fixed on Rodney’s legs. “There were seconds left and it was….I told you to brace for it.”

Maybe it was the pain meds he was on or maybe it was the rush of endorphins from the absence of constant itching but either way Rodney admitted something that he had, while falling off a building, sworn to take to his grave.

“I thought you were going to kiss me,” he said, glad John was facing away from him.

John’s head whipped around, hazel eyes wide. “You - what?”

Rodney swallowed, his mouth suddenly dry. “I thought you were telling me to brace myself before you kissed me.” He laughed hollowly. “Seconds to go before certain death, it’s what I would have done if I had seen the countdown.”

“With me?” John asked, his eyes flashing with something that Rodney hoped wasn’t anger. “You would have spent your last few seconds kissing me?”

Rodney nodded. “Yeah, but can we just maybe chalk this up to ‘stupid things Rodney says while high on meds’ and - -“

“Rodney?” John interrupted.

“Yeah?”

“Brace yourself.”

“What?”

John leaned forward.

Oh.


End file.
